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Egypt Social Media Hail 'Victory' Friday, Demand Trial of 'Corrupt' Officials
GMP20110219950043 Caversham BBC Monitoring in Arabic 1730 GMT 19 Feb 11 [Media roundup by BBC Monitoring: "Egypt Social Media Hail 'Victory' Friday, Demand Trial of 'Corrupt' Officials"] The Egyptian online community highlighted the "Friday of Victory" held on 18 February in Tahrir Square in downtown Cairo, where masses of Egyptians celebrated the "victory" of the 25 January "revolution". News portals reported extensively about the day. Bloggers, on the other hand, called for the trial of former "corrupt" officials. News portals News websites reported extensively about the "Friday of Victory", in which more than two million Egyptians participated. Most websites carried excerpts from the Friday sermon delivered by the head of the International Union of Muslim Scholars, Sheikh Yusuf alQaradawi. Commenting on the "Friday of Victory", Hani Salah-al-Din commented in Al-Yawm al-Sabi online daily: "It was a great day. Everyone who participated in it is proud of it." "This day will be a historical lesson for any dictator or despot trying to impose their own will on their people," the writer said. "The Friday of Victory proved to the whole world that Egyptian youths set a good example that should be followed," he added. On the official website of the opposition Muslim Brotherhood, Muhammad al-Suruji hailed the "Friday of Victory", saying it conveyed two messages. "The first message is directed to the Egyptians themselves, emphasizing their vigilance, high fitness and keenness on protecting the revolution and ensuring their gains," he said. He urged going ahead with "the revolution" "until we achieve all our clear and declared demands". "The second message is directed to the remnants of the ousted regime. This message says that people want to purge the country. It is necessary to remove the remnants of the corrupt regime in all institutions, bodies and agencies," he said. The Coptic online daily Copts United also hailed the "Friday of Victory", saying that some

Coptic clergymen participated in it. The online daily reported that a number of Coptic activists would stage another "mass protest" outside the television building in Cairo on 20 February "to support the demand for having a civil state". The daily quoted the chairman of the Egyptian Union for Human Rights, Najib Jibra'il, as saying that the protest would start at 12 pm Cairo time (1000 gmt). "The aim of the protest is to stress that Egypt is for all Egyptians and that there is no alternative to a civil state," he said. Blogs Egyptian bloggers called for the trial of "corrupt" officials of the former regime. On her blog Egyptian Chronicles, Zeinobia welcomed the investigation into three former ministers and a senior ruling party official on charges of corruption. "[Egyptian public prosecutor] Abd-al-Majid Mahmud has delegated all the prosecution offices in Egypt to investigate corruption cases from the former president's era. It is not a surprise, with the number of cases he has in his office now. Already, I will not be surprised if he asks for volunteers from lawyers," she said. "We are waiting for the rest of those corrupt bastards to join their brothers," she added. The 6 April Youth Movement posted a statement on its website welcoming the investigation into former officials. "The 6 April Youth Movement (Egyptian resistance movement) welcomes this positive step by the armed forces to put on trial some symbols of corruption for their crimes against Egypt and Egyptians," the statement said. The statement called for deposing the current caretaker government, drafting a new constitution and forming a presidential council consisting of civilians to run the country's affairs during the transitional period. The statement also called for annulling the emergency law and guaranteeing the freedom of media. On her blog Jabhat al-Tahyyes al-Sha'biyah, Egyptian blogger Nawwarah Najm commented on the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces' warning against further protests by some factions, saying that these protests hindered interests and production and created serious economic circumstances. "The army is annoyed about the protests. It is quite easy. These protests can end within half an hour, like magic," she said. She said only two things needed to be done in order to end such protests. "First, is to set the minimum monthly wage at 1,200 Egyptian pounds," she said. "Second, is to conduct an investigation into the corrupt officials and remnants of the former regime," she added. Facebook Several pages were created on the social networking website Facebook to celebrate the "Friday of Victory". Other pages were created for other purpose, such as calling for release of political prisoners. Activists launched an electronic campaign on Facebook demanding the release of Muslim Brotherhood members and other political prisoners. They established a page for that purpose. Another Facebook page was created to show solidarity with army major Ahmad Shuman, who defied orders and joined anti-government protests after he handed over his gun to his

colleagues. The page called on the military to pardon Shuman and not to summon him for questioning. The Supreme Council of Armed Forces was very quick to respond to the call. It said it retracted a decision to summon Shuman to a hearing over his decision to join the demonstrators during their anti-government protests. "As we believe in the honorable values of the 25 January revolution, the head of the Supreme Council of Armed Forces has decided to halt investigations regarding the stance taken by Major Shuman, even though this contradicts the regulations that govern our establishment," read a statement on the council's newly-created Facebook page. The army council recently said it had created a Facebook page to communicate better with citizens. It also said it would respond to any questions or concerns. YouTube The most circulated video in Egypt currently is a two-minute video showing two former ministers and a senior ruling party official getting out of patrol wagons to enter a prison in southern Cairo. Former minister of housing Ahmad al-Maghrabi, former minister of tourism Zuhayr Jaranah, and former senior ruling party official Ahmad Izz were seen in the video. They were remanded in custody for 15 days pending investigation into alleged corruption cases. The clip was posted on the video-sharing website YouTube on 17 February by a user called "egysoft101". The clip has attracted more than 940,000 views so far.

[Description of Source: Caversham BBC Monitoring in Arabic -- Monitoring service of the BBC, the United Kingdom's public service broadcaster]